Acacia Tree Garden Hotel Review



Days after scourging the net for a good place to stay in Puerto Princesa, I ended up booking a room with Acacia Tree Garden.

 

Reservations can be made through their Palawan landline or through their mobile numbers. I bombarded them with questions and they were friendly enough to answer them all.

 

We got their airport pickup service and arrived the hotel in no time. Immediate surroundings are not very appealing but since I was not expecting much, I was fairly satisfied with how the hotel turned out.

 

Reception Area

Reception and dining area is connected. The actual space is not very big but cozy. This is perfect for some nighttime family bonding with sungka games and billiard tables available here. Staffs are warm and friendly and even allowed us bring the sungka to our rooms.

Dining Area

True to its name, the hotel's main attraction is its garden. Each room has its own small stoned pathway lined with bright tropical flowers and greenery.

Garden Rooms

 

 

And in the middle of it all, lies the swimming pool, which is an attraction in itself. Every morning, you can hear splashes and laughter floating from here. By this time, it is best to enjoy a cup of coffee from your mini patio, relax and do some people watching.

 

 



Inviting, eh?

At night, the garden lights up and gives you and entirely different view. We spent many happy hours snapping and camera whoring. Go on, fill up those memory cards!

 

 



Night View

Lights Up, Acacia Trees!

Showing Off My Photoshop Skills :p

Finally, let's check out the rooms. The garden theme continues into the room as a woody accent wall welcomes the guests, giving off a warm and nature-y vibe.




Family Room

Walls are warm but the terracotta flooring may leave your pretty toes a bit cold.  Just remember to bring some room slippers to avoid getting cold feet. :)

 

Add caption

Toilet and bath has the basic necessities. 

 

 

 

 

A sitting area is provided, which can be turned into a space for additional beds if the need arises.

 

 



Being a mere 5 minute drive from the airport, this hotel is great for a few days' relaxing stay. Aside from its location, the hotel is a good choice for it provides that happy vacation feel instead of  stiff modernity offered by hotel buildings.

Furama Bukit Bintang Hotel Review

For our first visit to Kuala Lumpur, we chose Furama Bukit Bintang to be our home for our stay. We booked in advance through Agoda. Though the name indicates Bukit Bintang, the hotel is actually in the Imbi area. 

 

From the hotel entrance, one can see the Berjaya Times Square Mall which is a very short walk away. (But you have to pass through a couple of dark alleys.) And, in case your tummy calls out to you in the middle of the night, have no worry, there are many restaurants across the street, (mostly Chinese) and also a truck-turned-foodcart parked outside the hotel to satisfy your hunger pangs. 

 

Chinese restaurants in front of the hotel

We entered the brightly lit lobby and were received warmly by the reception staff. Check-in was done in just a few minutes, with a required deposit of 300 Malaysian Ringgit.




Hotel Entrance

 

Hotel Lobby

There is a lounge/coffee shop called Cinnamon Lounge at the lobby area, which will be an ideal hangout place after a tiring day's activities. Be warned though, drinks are not that cheap. We opted to buy drinks from a 7-11 across the street, at just 1/3 of the price! Sorry Furama, we're just being practical. More savings mean more money for shopping! Yey!



Cinnamon Lounge

Hotel guests are required to insert the room card for the elevators to work so safety is not a problem.



Ready to enter!

 

Our room was very spacious and modern. We got a twin room which can accommodate an extra bed. Internet was available, but LAN connection not wifi  ^_^

 

 



The Room

If you love having bubble baths, sorry to burst your bubble, only an enclosed shower is available. But goodness, don't waste your time in the bath, there are numerous stuff to do outside!



Toilet and Shower

The mini bar is equipped with complimentary water, water boiler, coffee, and tea. The closet contains a safe box and even an iron and iron board.

Cupboards, Safe Box, Iron Board

 

The next morning, we lazy bones woke up a bit late, so we ended up trying out the hotel's buffet breakfast. Spices @ Furama offers breakfast starting 6:30 am to 10:30 am. For hotel guests, rate is only 20 Malaysian Ringgit per person.

 

Speaking of breakfast, I encountered a slight problem with Agoda. When I booked the room, it was indicated that breakfast is included but another line says room only. After emailing the hotel, they confirmed that it was a glitch on Agoda's system and that the room I booked did not include breakfast. I emailed Agoda, but did not get a reply. (What the?!) But breakfast rate is cheap so I did not insist on the free one.

 



Restaurant

 

Enough of side tracks, dishes served were Asian-inspired and a bit American. With the wide array of choices, we ate to our hearts' content, forgetting that we were scheduled to have a buffet lunch at the KL Tower. LOL! Still, I have to mention that I particularly enjoyed the rosemary potatoes and the chicken sausages. Yum yum :) 



Pastry, Eggs, Rosemary Potatoes



Noodles, Pork & Beans, Chicken Sauces

The restaurant also has a poolside dining area. Just be careful not to get splashed by naughty swimmers :p



Dining Al Fresco,



Swimming Pool

The pool is quite small but enough for a quick dip. There is also a fitness center for those who cannot not miss a workout. :)



Kiddie Pool and Gym

My overall rating for this hotel is a 4 out of 5. With the quality of service and amenities, rate is relatively pocket-friendly. A twin room is approximately around 210 to 230 Malaysian Ringgit as of writing.

 

Location-wise, the Bukit Bintang Walk and  Jalan Alor Food Street  are some 10-15 minutes walk from here. Grocery and dining are not problems with the Berjaya Times Square Mall around 3 minutes away. Nearest LRT station, Imbi is also located here. Location is good but not the best. But, I personally have no problem with that.

 

As for safety, despite witnessing a cop-caught-a-thief scenario on our second night, we still feel that the area is safe enough. More on this, click here. Another thing, I hope the back alleys of the restaurants across the street leading up to Berjaya Times Square can be brighter. They are ok in broad daylight, but these alleys may be a bit scary at night. We skipped these short routes and walked the perimeter of the restaurants to avoid being in the dark.

 

Will I return to this hotel? Well, if my wallet will allow, I definitely want to try the fancy hotels lining the Bukit Bintang Shopping Area. But if I'll be on a smaller budget, Furama will surely top my list of choices. :)

Two Seasons Boracay Review

We encountered a bad beginning with this hotel, but everything eventually turned out great!

Our experience with Two Seasons started when we planned to take my uncle and auntie from abroad to see Boracay. And we were just in time for the 2012 Travel Expo at the SMX. A very good timing indeed! We hurried over to scout for great deals on hotels and tickets to the island paradise.

The view from Two Seasons

Two Seasons offered one of the most attractive rates for the duration of the expo. We got a deluxe room for only Php 5,000, which normally would cost Php 10,000! Who wouldn't want that? Of course, we ended up booking 2 rooms for 2 nights with them. (Can't we make the expo a monthly or even a weekly event!? Pretty please...?)


So far so good, until a couple of weeks later, while requesting for a booking confirmation from them, we learned that our rooms which were supposedly reserved for March, were actually booked for May! Oh uh... For lean seasons, it would have been easy to just change the dates. But no, this is for March the super peak season and no rooms of similar value were available, except for the suites. (They wanted us to add around 16k!)  After a major commotion some communications with their Manila office, they finally agreed to upgrade our rooms in order to accommodate us (at no additional costs!). My aunt and uncle got to stay in their junior suite for 2 nights, while my mom and I got a deluxe room for one night and also a junior suite for the second night. Yehey for that!

Boracay souvenirs :)

We also booked for airport-hotel land and boat transfers for P1,500 per person (from Kalibo airport). Expensive, but it made our travel, especially for our guests very comfortable. (Still, I think its overpriced :o) Whenever boarding a bus or a boat, there’s always someone to carry our bags. We waited for the private boat in the welcome center instead of waiting with other passengers in the terminal. There were also cold towels and bottled water waiting for us at the boat. J

Beach Front: Two Seasons Boracay

Upon arrival, we got welcome refreshments and fresh fruits in the rooms.

the pool

Lo Bar, at night

Two Seasons

For the first night, we stayed in the deluxe room (Room 105) while our guests stayed at the spacious junior suite. The deluxe room is quite good, but a bit on the small side. We had a queen sized bed and a single bed. I got some photos of the room with my mom and aunt in it, but my mom forbade me to use those.. Hahaha sorry no photos. The bathrooms are worth mentioning I love the tropical feel and the rain shower!

room slippers

tropical style bathroom

The first day ended perfectly. But something came up in the middle of the night...

My aunt who was a light sleeper, was being disurbed by some noise near their room. Upon checking, we learned that their junior suite (Room 308) was directly beneath the water pump system. So, every time the tank needed to replenish itself, it would produce loud noises. The staff particularly their manager Mr. Danilo, did their best to offer other rooms, but the rooms were either smelly (newly painted), had no hangers/racks, or still affected by the pump noise. My aunt ended up sleeping with cotton buds in her ears. Hehe my poor aunt.

The next day, my mom and I moved from the deluxe room to a junior suite (Room 208). The room was very spacious and nicely decorated. We had a king sized bed, plus a sofa bed just beside the full-sized windows which gave a generous view of the pool. Really nice! J

Junion Suite: Room 208

junior suite

One complaint though, the junior suite lacks places to hang your wet towels, and clothes. Quite inconvenient, if you ask me. (This room was offered to my aunt the night before but she refused it due to the lack of closet rods and towel bars in the bathroom.) Hmm, I wonder if other guests had complained of this before. I suddenly missed the bathroom in Room 105, I liked the decor better, plus it had amble hanging spaces!

After an afternoon of water fun, we went back to the hotel to take a rest. The guard informed us that the reception had been trying to contact us. Moments later, we learned that they would be giving us free snacks. Just what my grumbling stomach needed!

The snack that came up to our room was a surprise. I was expecting small snacks per person not the two family sized pizzas plus glasses of iced tea that appeared on our coffee table! Those were delivered personally by the manager Mr. Danilo, expressing his apology for the inconvenience caused by the noisy water pump. Wow, and that is what we call REAL CUSTOMER SERVICE! (clap, clap, clap!)

our delicious pizza. yummier because it's for free! hahaha

After wolfing down enjoying the snacks (they were delicious, by the way), we decided to avail of the massage offered by the hotel. I got a 1 hour foot scrub with massage by the beach for P500 only. A breath-taking beach view + a relaxing massage + a good book = heaven!

this was where I had my massage :)

Another surprise came the next day when one of the masseurs handed me a small plastic with some green leaves in it. They told me that those were tuba tuba leaves for pain and strain relief. They were from the masseur who did my foot scrub. She was on leave that day and asked her colleagues to give them to me.  I was surprised and touched at the same time. The day before, in between massage and chitchat, I told her of a long time pain in my foot. She said that she was quite knowledgeable with herbal remedies and will try to find some leaves for me. I was totally not expecting her to really find and give them to me. She could have just forgotten about me and ride off into the sunset, (yes overdramatic, but you know what I mean :p) and enjoy her day off. It was nice to think that someone, a mere acquaintance actually cared about me.

my tuba tuba leaves

I would like to commend the people at Two Seasons, not just because of the room upgrade, but because they were willing to go out of their way just to provide good service for their clients. They did all these sincerely and always with a smile. These days, good service plus unexpected kindness are really rare.

At the end of the trip, it is not really the luxurious amenities and features that are imprinted in our memories, but instead, it is those small things and genuine care that make our experiences more extraordinary and unforgettable. J